Give carbon price a chance: Garnaut

Climate change expert Professor Ross Garnaut says he hopes the "noise" of Australian politics does not derail the plan for a carbon price.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced last week the Government wanted to introduce a fixed price on carbon from July 2012 and an emissions trading scheme (ETS) with a floating price three to five years later.

The details of those plans are yet to be finalised.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has said a Coalition government would scrap the tax.

But Professor Garnaut, who released a paper on transforming rural land use in Brisbane today, says people should not criticise the plan so soon.

He says it is a serious issue with huge consequences for future generations.

"We won't get a good result if people are arguing they don't like conclusions before they've seen the analysis," he said.

"Let's focus on the facts, on the analysis, the policy conclusions that come from that.

"I think if that's the nature of the discussion in Australia, we'll end up getting a good result."

Asked during a public address about his thoughts on Mr Abbott's plan to scrap the tax, he said it was a very difficult policy issue.

"It's easy to take slogans to it," he said.

"But I think that if we in the independent centre of the Australian polity insist on facts, analysis, then what we might think of as the noise of Australian politics won't dominate outcomes.

"That might be too much of a hope but Australia has done it before - at our best, we're good enough."

'Include agriculture'

In the latest update on his climate change review, Professor Garnaut says agriculture should be included in any carbon price scheme.

He says there will be an enormous cost to farmers if there is not any mitigation of carbon, and that farmers could generate carbon credits through biosequestration.

"We won't utilise the full opportunity without proper incentives," he said.

"You're not going to get incentives that truly reflect the value of the abatement unless ... the selling of credits for biosequestration is linked to a carbon pricing scheme."